Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announces new salary rules
The rules were announced this week
If you’re working in Saudi Arabia, you need to know that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has announced new Saudi salary rules that you need to know.
According to Saudi Gazette, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) has clarified that if a company assigns an employee an unreasonable basic wage, regardless of whether it is too low or too high, it will trigger violation alerts under Saudi Arabia’s Wage Protection Program.
According to the newest program guide, the salaries will appear as alerts in the employer’s violations record on the Mudad platform if deemed unreasonable when compared to other recorded data.
Alerts will also be generated if salary deductions go beyond 50 per cent of a worker’s salary or if a worker’s basic salary has not been recorded on Mudad in over 90 days. There are also several other violations, including failing to enter the basic wage in designated fields, failing to pay the wage, or lacking any record of wage disbursement.
That’s not all, though. The ministry also stated that inspection visits will be held if private sector establishments delay submitting their wage protection files by more than 20 days.
How it will work
The Mudad platform, which manages payroll compliance, will automatically submit a request to the inspection department to visit companies that are noncompliant. The procedure begins once wages are due. Mudad will first send a reminder to the employer, followed by a second notification 10 days later. A final warning is then issued on the 15th day. If no file is submitted within 20 days, an inspection request is triggered.
The platform has also clarified that employers have 10 days to justify delayed salary payments. Employees then have three days to accept or reject the justification in the system. If no response is received from the employee, the system will automatically process the employer’s explanation.
Consequences
Companies that delay salary payments for two months will face a suspension of all services except for issuing and renewing work permits. If the delay goes beyond three months, all services will be suspended. Employees will even be allowed to transfer to a new employer without the current employer’s consent, even if their work permit remains valid.
Visit: hrsd.gov.sa
Images: Getty
